Hands-on, first impressions, and Photo gallery of Apple iPad

We blogged the live event and we've put our hands all over the new iPad. …

Apple revealed its new iPad Tablet today, and we've got photos from the live event and from our hands-on with the new device. For pictures of the event, check out page two.

iPad hands-on

The press was given a few moments with one of the new Apple iPads and we tried to put it through as many paces as we could in the limited amount of time we were given. What follows are the photos we were able to take and a quick list of facts we know about the device from our session.

There is no camera on the iPad.

There's no way to lock the screen into landscape or portrait mode. Some apps lock the screen (like on the iPhone) but there's no universal way to lock the screen as you might on a Kindle or Nook.

The landscape and portrait switching works in all 4 orientations, so you could read upside down if you liked.

There's a sleep/wake button on the top, just like an iPhone. Also, there is a headphone jack and a speaker on the top (and one speaker on the bottom).

There is a volume rocker switch on the side, just like the iPhone. You can also silent the device.

No brightness controls outside of the system preferences, just like on the iPhone.

You can use any bluetooth keyboard you want, instead of Apple's keyboard dock. You could use the case/stand with your existing bluetooth keyboard.

You cannot use a bluetooth mouse, however.

The screen resolution is 1024x768 (4:3).

It can play 720p movies from iTunes.

The case itself is some crazy soft rubbery microfiber material that no Apple rep could or would identify.

The case/stand is $39.

The case is very flat and solid like a Kindle case, but you can use it to prop the iPad up into a triangle so you can watch movies or use it like a laptop.

The keyboard dock is $69 and the normal dock is $39.

The browser is like Safari on the iPhone but it has toolbar favorites like on the Mac.

It's much easier to click and navigate on the iPad than on an iPhone, just by virtue of it being larger.

Size/weight is very comparable to a Kindle DX, which is twice as heavy as a Kindle 2.

Leave any more questions you might have in the comments and we'll be rounding up our coverage at some point in the future with as much information as we can find.

Jacqui Cheng
Jacqui is an Editor at Large at Ars Technica, where she has spent the last eight years writing about Apple culture, gadgets, social networking, privacy, and more. Emailjacqui@arstechnica.com//Twitter@eJacqui

From Twitter (for what it's worth, #iTampon is apparently the number three trending topic on the site.):

tjakabon: "It surfs the web AND stops the bleeding."

Gelatobaby: And you can use the giant QWERTY keyboard to get your period on the #iPad!

CarolBlymire: Is #apple making an iPad for light-flow days? Just wondering...

Trish1981: iPad? Really? All I can say is, I'm sticking with Always, bitches.

tremendousnews: So I can say "That chick is on her iPad" and not be called a pig? Thank you Apple.

melissapierce: iPad has changed "the conversation" from how we use tech in context to how we use tech as Kotex. (who named this thing?)

TwittsMcGee: I haven't heard this many period jokes since I was forced to watch The View last month. #iPad

kathycacace: Okay, just one more. The iPad: protecting your data from embarrassing incidents.

Johnpapa: "64 gig iPad will forever be known as the heavy flow model."

From the comments section of "Period Pieces":

lady_justice: Did the prototype come with a belt?

Lymed: Does the Period Tracker app come free?

fauxfruit: If I order this, will my boyfriend and I have to worry if it comes late?

andBegorrah: If you and your friends all buy one, will they sync up?

boston_nj: Meh. I'll wait until they come out with the iDivaCup

morninggloria: Don't wear white jeans while using an iPad, and especially don't use an iPad in front of your crush. You're a teen magazine embarrassing moment waiting to happen.

ms negative the easy-going unicorn: someone needs to make a 'mysterious blue liquid stain on white' wallpaper for this.

LilSpitfire: Later in the year they will be releasing the companion tablet pen, the Ipon.

Vesuvius At Home (I believe in peace, bitch): But what if the cute boys see me shopping for one? What if my dad has to take me??

NellMood: It's so beautiful when an electronics company finally becomes a woman...

Cinnamoncanuck: @NellMood: Aunt Flo will be so happy! Reply

soykatrina: Eh, I prefer the CVS brand. A few bucks less but does the same thing...

vlvtjones: So will iffy Wifi coverage be called iSpotting?

morninggloria: Can I get a scented iPad for when my data feels not-so-fresh?

Mary McCarthyite: Everyone, just try to Stay(free) calm and Poise(d). It's Always nice to see a new product on the market. I Depend on Apple to come up with great ideas. Maybe we're taking this out of Kotex.

Lymed: Somebody give the iPad a Red Bull, because it ain't no good without wings.

andBegorrah: Are you there, God? It's me, Marketing.

NellMood: iPads are for 8th graders. I'm waiting for the iTampon, because I prefer to do all my interneting from inside my vagina.

BicSharpie: Hopefully it will help people deal with the 24-hour news cycle.

Temperature? When you're playing high-def movies for a while, does the machine heat up? Where on the device? Can you tell where the processor is? I take it the case is sealed and has no fan? Are there visible screws? -love, a hardware geek totally perplexed by the A4.

I'm reading that excitement about the product is draining away, but around the house I'm hearing plans to buy three or four of them starting to shore up. We own a lot of Macs and iPhones so we're the kind of people who would buy the iPad, but still, there wasn't nearly this much excitement over the original iPhone or any particular Mac model.

what are your impressions on the bezel? it looks relatively thick to the size of the screen. does it feel like wasted space? is it distracting? (especially with full screen video or other full screen apps.)

My one concern: Will you be able to get apps ONLY through the App Store, like the iPhone, or directly from third parties as you can on a Mac?

I do not like Apple being the final authority on what I can and can't run on my iPhone, and I simply won't have them being able to veto me being able to run an application on an iPad because they do not want me to have it for whatever reason. To me, that's analogous to HP telling me, for example, "You can ONLY run applications on your HP laptop that you download and install from hp.com." That's silly, yet it's what we're putting up with from Apple.

On my Mac, I can install applications from third parties without Apple's approval, but the iPad seems to be pitched as leaning more towards the iPhone way of doing things. I'd like to know for sure if that's the case, and if it is, I'll be very disappointed and I'll wait for something better.

look at that price. the only way this will replace pc's is because no one is gonna buy this and a pc. i can't wait to see how many people waste their money on this, purely because it's apple. an $800+ device i still have to cherry pick my music onto--let alone movies or decent games.

there is a model cheaper than my iphone. solely proving the cost is only what people will pay for it. time to renew that subscription to "hipster" (jk. we know you're just a greasy fanboy, unless you're a 16 yr old girl, or are trying to impress one, then you're a hipster)

Originally posted by Werfu:Does it have a stylus? I really hope you can use it with a stylus. If it can't that would be the dumbest move I've ever seen. Most of the people using tablet do it for the stylus.

Since you can use an iPhone or iPod Touch with a stylus if you choose to, and they use the same type of screen, I imagine the answer much surely be yes.